


The moon decends (And so to bed)

by rustypeopleskillz



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: First Kiss, Getting Together, Huddling For Warmth, Love Confessions, Multi, Oblivious, Polyamory, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-17
Updated: 2018-04-17
Packaged: 2019-04-24 07:16:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14350578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rustypeopleskillz/pseuds/rustypeopleskillz
Summary: Jim never did plan on doing anything about these feelings he has, but then he ends up sharing a room with both Spock and Bones on an alien planet. A cold room.





	The moon decends (And so to bed)

**Author's Note:**

> Hello new fandom! New old fandom. Oldest fandom in the book. *swallows nervously* So. This is my first fic in forever, and it was such a joy to write. I hope you like it. 
> 
> Written because of [this post](https://omgbubblesomg.tumblr.com/post/171064416295/quinnandersonwrites-writing-advice-it-doesnt) on tumblr. Thank you, random OP. The world needs more "there was only one bed."
> 
> Beta read by dodger_sister, my one constant companion in this fandom life. 
> 
> If I've comitted any errors in regards to Star Trek lore, I apologize. A lot of my knowledge is based on fanfic and the films. :)
> 
> Title from And So to Bed by Artie Shaw & His Orchestra.

The room is… cozy, to put it nicely. Jim glances to his left. Bones looks like he wants nothing more than to let loose a string of no doubt inventive curses that would probably damage already tenuous diplomatic relations beyond repair. Jim is glad he manages to keep quiet, because he just wants to sleep. So badly.

They’ve been stuck in negotiations all day – and that’s all day by this planet’s standards, which translates to over twenty Federation hours – and Jim just wants to fall over. They have another day of treading delicately through egos and traditions and misunderstandings tomorrow, and if Spock and Bones weren’t there to back him up, Jim doesn’t know what he would have done by now. 

Uhura has beamed back up to the _Enterprise_ to get her team’s assistance on integrating everything she’s learned about the Helixean regional language into the universal translators. It will hopefully make tomorrow easier, but Jim feels bad for not letting her rest. She’s had just as rough a day as the rest of them. He’s also a little jealous of her, because when he graciously accepted their host’s offer to put them up for the night, this is not what he had in mind. 

“Is something not-right-sadness, Leader Person?” the young aide asks when Jim doesn’t step into the room xe has shown them to. The translator has garbled every question asked all day, and Jim has to bite back the sigh that threatens to escape. Bones looks on the verge of saying something disastrous, but thankfully Spock steps in. 

“Not at all, Aide Kol,” he says, bowing slightly in their traditional apology. “We shall be quite comfortable.”

Bones looks as incredulous as Jim feels, and the aide looks even more nervous. 

“We can provide more night-sleep-safe for you, Leader Person the second,” xe rushes to assure Spock, waving xir three-fingered hands in the air. “We merely thought you would want to say together, protecting-sleeping-safe. Is not good?” 

Actually, that is a good point, Jim thinks, and before Spock can request additional rooms, he speaks up. 

“This will be quite sufficient, thank you, Aide Kol.” He touches his forehead with the back of his hand, and the aide does the same after a second’s hesitation. Xe leaves them there, in the tiny room with only space enough for a small couch and oh yeah, only one bed. A pretty big bed, but still. Only one bed. 

Bones thankfully waits until the door is closed before he lets out an incredulous noise and plunks himself down on the couch. 

“Oh, this will be sufficient, will it?” he asks, waving a hand around and scowling at Jim. 

Spock also looks less than pleased and Jim holds up both hands to try and ward off their disapproval. 

“Look, I thought xe had a point about us staying together. We’re not really in friendly territory here, guys. This way, if one of us gets kidnapped for leverage, we all get kidnapped for leverage.”

There’s a second of silence in which Spock and Bones exchange a look that looks suspiciously like they think Jim is an idiot. Jim crosses his arms. 

“Captain, if you feel we are in danger of being kidnapped, would not the wisest course of action be to return to the ship for the night?” Spock finally says, and Bones waves at him like _see, reasonable_. It’s creepy. Jim hates it when they agree. 

“It’s not like I think it’s a big risk,” he says. “Just, staying together seems, well, wise. Logical, even.” Spock raises an eyebrow, but doesn’t protest further. Bones rolls his eyes but doesn’t say anything, so Jim supposes he’s won. “I’ll take the floor,” he offers, eyeing the bright orange carpet with trepidation. 

“Now look-” Bones starts, but Spock cuts him off. 

“Since I do not require as much sleep as you, I shall meditate. I do not require a bed.”

“Then I’ll take the couch,” Jim says quickly, before Bones can sacrifice himself. He wiggles down next to Bones on the couch, all elbows and knees, until Bones makes a disgusted noise and gets up. 

“I’m only agreeing to this because if I beamed up, one of you fools would actually get kidnapped and tortured and I’d have hours of surgery on my hands.”

Jim smiles triumphantly. 

“It’s good to know you care, Bones.”

“I’m just saying, don’t come complaining to me when that couch breaks your back for good, Jim.”

They take turns in the opulent en suite. Luckily, they all three know enough to not try the hottest setting on the tap or the shower – the Helixean tolerance for heat is higher even than that of Vulcans – and no one comes out with third degree burns for Bones to treat. Jim spends a few extra minutes marveling at the way the full body mirror can suggest outfits and show what they would look like. It can also take pictures. Jim is glad he’s still wearing clothes when he discovers that feature. 

Jim usually sleeps without a shirt, but he hesitates before taking it off now. Then he shrugs. It’s nothing either of them haven’t seen before, and if it sends a thrill of longing down to Jim’s gut to think of them liking what they see, then that’s his business. He walks out of the bathroom not daring to look at either of them. 

The thing he forgot, though, is that Bones also sleeps without a shirt. Jim has just settled in on the hard couch and pulled the duvet over himself when Bones exits the bathroom. It’s like a punch in the solar plexus. Jim hasn’t seen him without a shirt in at least a year, and if anything, he’s become more defined and broad shouldered in that time. Jim has to tear his eyes away before Bones notices. He stares at Spock’s ears instead. Blinks. Why are they flushed green? 

The couch is… well, tiny. Jim forces himself to not throw a longing look at the wide bed that Bones is settling into, a fluffy duvet pulled up to his ears so that only the back of his dark head is showing. It would be wide enough for the both of them, but Jim can’t bring himself to raise that point. He’s not sure he wants to be that close to a sleeping Bones. He wouldn’t get any rest. 

It doesn’t occur to him until later that it’s strange that Spock didn’t suggest this highly logical solution. 

Despite his exhaustion, Jim can’t sleep. It’s been ages since he slept in the same room as anyone else, and every tiny movement and sound startles him as if they were shouts. It doesn’t help that he can see the back of Spock’s head where he’s sitting just within reach. The light from the entertainment display’s pin prick LED is enough to illuminate his neat hair, making it shine with yellow highlights. He doesn’t move, just sits there. Jim has never actually seen him meditate before, so he doesn’t know if it’s normal or not. How can he not get a cramp? Although cramping legs are probably illogical. 

Bones isn’t snoring. Jim doesn’t know if that means he’s not sleeping or if he’s just gotten the snore taken care of since last they shared a room. It’s been years. Jim swallows past a sudden lump in his throat. They used to crash at each other’s places all the time back at the Academy. Jim even had a drawer at Bones’ at one point. He’d thought… well, it doesn’t matter what he’d thought, he’d been wrong, and they haven’t stayed up until stupid o’clock in the morning to talk and drink in ages. Part of being in charge of so many lives. Jim can’t let himself lose judgment like that anymore. Now they have one drink together, talk for an hour or two, and then head to their separate quarters. Alone. The ache is so familiar by now he’s not sure how he would live without it.

This thing he has for Spock is newer. At first, he’d been relieved when he realized why he didn’t want to say goodnight after their almost daily chess matches. If he was falling for Spock – and if Spock seemed like he was maybe falling right back – then maybe that meant he was finally over his stupid hopeless feelings for Bones. That sliver of hope had been crushed the very next day when he walked into the commissary for breakfast and found Bones and Spock sitting together, arguing about one thing or another and having the time of their lives. He’d felt that same thrill he always felt at seeing Bones, only now it was twinned with a similar thrill at seeing Spock. 

He hasn’t done anything about the seemingly mutual interest he and Spock had for each other, because he can’t stand the thought of not being able to give Spock his all. How could he ask Spock to start a relationship with someone who also loves someone else? He isn’t sure if he’s relieved or hurt that Spock seems to take his cues from Jim in this. 

Jim suppresses a sigh and tries to find a more comfortable position. At least he has a good pillow, because Bones handed them each one from the bed and glared until they accepted them. Spock didn’t even argue, just put it on the floor and sat down on it with the same grace he did everything. Jim also got a duvet, but it’s not enough for him to not feel when the air conditioning turns on an hour after they’ve said good night. The temperature drops almost instantly, and Bones proves he wasn’t actually sleeping by swearing loudly. 

“What the everloving fuck now?” he says, sitting up and pulling the duvet around himself. His hair is in disarray, sticking up adorably in the back. Jim’s heart squeezes. 

“It would seem our hosts think we prefer a colder temperature,” Spock says, and a few years ago, Jim would have missed the annoyance creeping into his voice. 

“That, or they’re trying to freeze us to death,” Bones mutters, scowling in the near dark. “How do we get them to stop?” 

Jim shudders. It really is cold. He sits up. 

“I’ll go talk to them.” 

There’s no one in the corridor, and the air out there is blessedly warm. Jim throws the duvet back into the room. 

“Spock, get under this so you don’t freeze to death,” he says, and closes the door on Spock’s now ruffled hair and green tipped ears. 

Jim heads down the corridor, belatedly thinking he should have put his pants back on, or at least a shirt. As he turns the corner, he runs into another aide, xir position clear from the braided green hair and nose piercing. 

“Leader Person Kirk!” xe exclaims, almost dropping xir stack of books and papers. Jim tries to remember if he’s seen xir before, but he’s too tired and it’s been a really long day full of new faces. 

“Yes, hello,” he says instead, executing the complicated greeting gesture for what feels like the hundredth time that day. 

“Is something wrong, Leader Person?” the aide asks, righting xir books and looking worriedly at Jim. 

“Ah, well,” Jim says, wondering how to phrase this to not sound like he’s complaining. “Our room suddenly got quite cold?” he settles on. 

“Yes!” the aide says proudly, straightening. “Aide Kol was unaware of your human and Vulcan temperature sensitivity, and so had left the room much too hot. I apologize. I hope that it is better now?” 

Xe looks so proud of xirself that Jim almost doesn’t have the heart to contradict xir, but Spock’s green tipped ears come to mind and he powers through. 

“Well, we really appreciate the thought,” he begins, and the aide looks even prouder. “We were just wondering if you could adjust it just a little? My First Officer is Vulcan and he gets cold easier.”

“Certainly! Of course! I’ll do that right away.” The aide gestures goodbye, and Jim watcher xir leave with relief. That was easier than he’d thought it’d be. 

Only, when he comes back to the room, it’s even colder. Spock has retreated onto Jim’s couch, and Jim can’t blame him. The floor is freezing. 

“Christ,” he mutters, trying to get both feet off the floor at the same time and only succeeding in looking like an idiot. “Are you okay, Spock?” Spock has pulled the duvet over his head so that only his face is visible in the gloom, a pale oval with severe eyebrows and slightly green lips. 

“As I have repeatedly told the doctor, I am adequate,” Spock says, even as he pulls the duvet tighter around himself. 

“Adequate my ass. What the hell, Jim? They made it even colder.”

“Yeah,” Jim says, wincing and rubbing his arms. “I think there was a bit of a misunderstanding. I’ll just go talk to them again.”

“And what, make it even colder? Just get in here.” Bones gestures at the bed, and Jim thinks about protesting, about going out to find the aide again but he’s so tired, and Bones is asking him to share a bed with him. He’s only human. 

It’s a little awkward, shuffling onto the bed and trying not to shudder too visibly. Jim glances at Spock, who looks stoic and unperturbed and cold. 

“Spock?” he says, laying down. 

“My apologies,” Spock says, rising. “You will want this back.” And he takes off the duvet to hand it to Jim. Jim just stares at him. 

“Jesus, man, just get in the bed,” Bones says, exasperated. 

“As I said, I do not require sleep at this time-” 

“I don’t care, you’re gonna freeze to death out there. Just get in the bed and let me sleep.” Bones sounds grumpy and tired, but Jim can hear the affection underneath. Spock only hesitates a moment before taking the half step required to get on the bed. Jim meets Bones’ eyes, and they both shuffle away from each other a bit to leave room in the middle for Spock. Spock doesn’t comment, just pulls the duvet in after him as he slides into the vacant spot. Finally, Jim can cover himself against the cold, even if it’s a little awkward to try and avoid touching Spock while sharing a duvet with him. 

At first, Jim is so tense he thinks he’ll never be able to sleep. Spock is so close, heat radiating off him now that he’s not freezing to death on the floor anymore, and if he listens carefully, he can hear Bones breathing on the other side of Spock. He’s still not snoring. This is all he’s ever wanted, the both of them close enough to touch, but the small gap between him and Spock seems like a chasm he could never cross, a chasm filled with fear and future hurt. He wonders if Bones and Spock are touching. He wonders what Spock would say if he reached out and laid his hand on top of Spock’s. 

Finally, he sighs and turns on his side, away from them both. He needs to sleep. The day has been grueling and his eyelids feel like sandpaper. He needs to be on top of his game tomorrow. He can’t be thinking about how he and Spock are actually sharing a duvet. How he’s in the same bed as both Spock and Bones. He needs to sleep. 

He wakes up some time later feeling warm, much warmer than he was when he fell asleep. Then he realizes what woke him. His cheek is resting on Spock’s chest. Spock’s tense, barely moving chest. A sick thrill shoots through him. His arm is slung over Spock’s stomach, knuckles grazing Bones’ back. Why is Bones under the same duvet as them? Why is Jim on top of Spock? Why hasn’t Spock said anything? All this flashes through his mind within seconds, and then he’s rolling away, not daring to look at Spock. 

Or, rather, he attempts to roll away. Spock’s hand on his arm stops him. It’s warm, so warm, and feels intimate against his naked skin in a way that Spock touching him doesn’t usually. Jim swallows and looks up at Spock’s face in the near dark. 

“Jim,” Spock says quietly. His eyes look black, and his face is softer than Jim has ever seen it. It makes the longing in Jim flare up until he feels like he’s choking on it. If he just leans forward a little, they will be kissing. Something stops him, though. He looks to their right, at the tense set of Bones’ shoulders, the way it looks like he’s not breathing at all. 

“I can’t,” he whispers, his heart breaking even as he says it. He can’t pick, is what he means, but that’s not what Spock hears. He follows Jim’s gaze, and something sad and lonely passes over his face before it turns back to its usual schooled Vulcan expression. 

“Of course,” he says, taking his hand off Jim’s arm. “My apologies.”

“Spock. It’s not that, I…” Jim falters, all too aware that Bones is listening even if he’s pretending so hard to be asleep. Before he can go on, Bones huffs and rolls over, scowling at them both. 

“Would you two just kiss already? If I have to watch you dance around each other one more day I’ll tear my hair out.” His eyes are a little wild, and he’s oozing pain and desperation. Jim reaches for him without thinking and Bones flinches back. Jim drops his hand. 

“Leonard-” Spock starts, but Bones shakes his head. 

“No, c’mon, don’t. I know you want each other. It’s clear as day. The only reason Jim is saying no is… well…” he gestures wildly at himself. “I’m guessing he’s figured me out and doesn’t want to hurt my delicate feelings. But I’ll be fine.” He swallows. “Just. Just get it over with.” And he looks at them both expectantly, like he thinks that now that they have his permission, they’ll make out right in front of him. Jim is still stuck on something he said though. 

“When you say I’ve figured you out-” Jim starts, and Bones makes an impatient noise. 

“I’ve been pretty obvious, kid. Don’t even.” 

Jim looks down at Spock, who is frowning at Bones like he’s a puzzle about to be solved. Jim swallows. 

“You have feelings?” he guesses, and Spock zeroes in on him instead. “For Spock.” Spock’s eyes widen and Bones laughs bitterly. 

“That’s only half of it.” He sits up, pulling both hands through his hair. “Do we really have to do this? I gave you my blessing. I’ll be fine, I promise. Just get on with it.” He throws the duvet off himself like he’s about to get up, and Jim and Spock both reach for him at the same time. 

“Leonard,” Spock says again, his voice brooking no argument. Yeah, like that has ever worked on Bones. “You have feelings for me? I thought you were in love with Jim.”

Jim’s heart jumps into his throat. 

“Wait, what?” he croaks, sitting up too. Thankfully the room is a more normal temperature now. Someone must have spotted the aide’s mistake. Still, Spock makes a displeased noise as the still chilly air rushes in to fill the spot Jim was just occupying.

“God,” Bones says. “This is a mess. Yes, okay? Both of you, yes. Don’t worry about it.” He tries to get up again, but they’re still holding him in place. He glares down at their hands. “Want to let me go, maybe?” 

“No,” they both say, and Jim looks down at Spock again. He meets Jim’s eyes and raises an eyebrow. A grin spreads across Jim’s face in time with the giddy hope spreading through his chest. 

“Really?” he says, and Spock’s lips twitch.

“Indeed,” he replies, self-deprecation clear in his eyes. 

Jim’s grin widens. “Yeah, me too.”

“What are you two on about?” Bones says, annoyed. 

Spock and Jim hold each other’s gaze for one second longer, and then they both turn to look at Bones. He swallows. 

“Well, Bones,” Jim says, squeezing his arm where he’s still holding on. “If you want us both, who are we to argue?” 

Bones blinks. Blinks again. His cheeks are visibly pink, even in the dim light. 

“You want to… with me?” he finally sputters, and Jim’s heart is beating hard, so hard, but he can’t stop smiling. He nods, licks his lips. 

“It would appear we are all on ‘the same page’, as it were,” Spock says, finally sitting up too. He hunches his shoulders a little, like it’s still too cold for his taste, and Jim just wants to wrap him up and keep him warm always. 

“Really? You too, Jim?” Bones looks doubtful, and Jim swallows, fights through the fear that has kept him from saying something for so long, and nods. Bones lets out a long, shuddering breath, takes a new one, and then nods. “Well, okay then.” He sounds just as scared as Jim feels, but he said yes. They’re really doing this. Jim surges forward before he can second guess himself a second longer. 

Jim has wanted this for so long that he’s momentarily unsure of what to do once their lips touch. Bones makes a questioning noise, not moving either, and Jim finally gets his head in the game and presses their lips together harder, hand tangling in Bones’ hair. Bones’ lips are soft and warm and welcoming, and Jim loses himself in it, in the slide of their tongues together, in the feel of Bones under his longing hands. He gets a crick in his neck from the strange position where they’re both leaning over Spock’s legs, and the chilly air is still there, but it’s all distant, unimportant. The only things that matter are the small noise Bones lets out when Jim bites his lower lip and the heat of Spock’s gaze at the side of Jim’s face, palpable like a physical touch. 

When they pull apart, Jim’s heart is racing and Bones’ eyes are dark, his lips swollen. They turn as one to look at Spock, and Jim loses what little breath he had. Spock’s face is naked like Jim as rarely seen it before, everything he’s feeling allowed free reign as he looks at them, licks his lips, stretches out to touch first Jim’s lips, then Bones’. 

Spock lowers his hand to touch Jim’s arm where Bones grabbed hold of him sometime during the kiss. Bones makes a strangled noise, and they both watch avidly as Spock runs his long, pale fingers first over Bones’ rough knuckles, down over his fingers, then down Jim’s arm to where his hand is gripping Bones’ hip. It feels like a branding, like Jim can never go back to being how he was before Spock touched him like this. Bones’ hand tightens on his arm. 

“I have found myself experiencing certain conflicting urges,” Spock confesses, his fingertips grazing Jim’s knuckles and running back up his arm. “At first I was uncertain of how to reconcile them, but this development is most agreeable.” He touches Bones’ fingers again. 

“Is that your roundabout Vulcan way of saying you want us both?” Bones grumbles, turning his hand to meet Spock’s fingers with his own. Jim misses his touch, but can’t tear his eyes away from their hands together. He knows about Vulcan hands and how sensitive they are, of course, but he also knows about Bones’ hands and how sensitive _they_ are. Not from experience, but he once stayed for a week with Bones and his on-again, off-again girlfriend at the Academy, and he _knows things_. He’s never been able to forget. 

“Indeed,” Spock says, and Jim lets out a shaky laugh and scoots closer to them both. 

“Awesome,” he says. He’s not able to contain his grin, and Bones rolls his eyes even as he grins back. 

“That’s one way of putting it,” Bones grumbles. “I’d say we’re all out of our fool heads.” 

Spock doesn’t argue, just pulls Bones in by the back of his neck and kisses him, human style. Jim waits for the jealousy, to have to talk his ego down, but all he can feel is triumph and arousal. They look amazing together, Spock’s hand pale against the stubble on Bones’ jaw, their eyes closed and faces lost in each other. He wants to touch them, but he also wants to let them have this. He stays back, but keeps a hand on Bones’ shoulder, just to stay connected. 

Spock lets out a shuddering breath when they pull apart, and Jim has never heard anything like it. They look at each other for a few seconds more, still caught in each other’s pull. Somehow, Jim doesn’t feel excluded, he just watches them watch each other until Bones quirks his lips and Spock turns to look at Jim. He looks well kissed, and his hair is no longer neat and perfect. A hot arrow of arousal shoots through Jim’s gut. 

When they kiss it’s nothing like kissing Bones, and yet remarkably similar. It’s the culmination of years of looking and wanting, but it’s also an exploration, tentative at first until Jim growls and Spock pulls him in, half into his lap. He’s firm and hot under Jim, and his hands frame Jim’s face, holding him in place as Spock methodically takes Jim apart, one small discovery at a time. Jim tries to give as good as he gets, but Spock’s undivided focus is hard to compete with. He ends up just holding on for the ride, one hand twisted in Spock’s shirt, the other still clutching at Bones’ arm. 

The kiss slows down eventually, by mutual agreement, and they end up just breathing against each other, lips barely touching. 

“Damn,” Bones says, his voice as close to reverent as Jim has ever heard it. He opens his eyes, glancing to his right, and Bones’ pupils are blown wide, his lips kiss swollen.

“I could get used to this,” Jim says, looking back down at Spock, another grin tugging at his lips. He leans his head against Spock’s shoulder, content to just be for the moment. He can feel a silent exchange going on over his head, but he’s too comfortable to try to figure out what they’re saying. 

“Right, Jimbo,” Bones says, placing a kiss to the back of Jim’s neck. “Time to sleep.” 

“Sleep?” Jim protests, holding on tighter to Spock. “But I just found out I get to kiss you both. How am I supposed to sleep?”

“There’s nothing I’d like more than to kiss you both all night,” Bones confesses, and arousal surges low in Jim’s stomach again. He can’t just _say_ things like that. “But we have one hell of a day ahead of us. There’ll be plenty of time for that later.” 

Spock’s hand settles in Jim’s hair, and it’s soothing, comfortable. Jim sighs. 

“Yeah, okay,” he agrees, and is rewarded with a kiss against his temple and another at his nape. He really could get used to this. They lay back down, Spock still in the middle. Jim’s sure he’s never going to be able to sleep, even with eyelids as heavy as something, well, really heavy, but then Spock pulls him close, fitting them together with Jim’s back against his chest, his knees in the hollows of Jim’s knees. His hand settles in the center of Jim’s chest, feeling him breathe. Bones’ hand finds Jim’s shoulder, arm slung over Spock, and Jim feels all tension slowly drain out of him. The long day finally catches up, and the safety and warmth surrounding him lulls him to sleep. 

 

The relations with the Helaxeans end up being just slightly less tense, despite their best efforts, but Jim can’t help but thank them with genuine fondness when the talks conclude the next day. Maybe this means they’ll have to come back in the future for more negotiations. He never thought he’d be happy about that. Spock raises an eyebrow when he voices his thought out loud, and Bones rolls his eyes, but neither of them contradict him. 

Yeah. Jim will always have a soft spot for this planet.

**Author's Note:**

> Come visit me on [tumblr](http://rustypeopleskillz.tumblr.com/)!
> 
> Comments are love, as we said in the olden days.


End file.
